Assessment in the Public Eye

1. Assessment in the Public Eye Do Race, Class, or Gender Bias Have a Stake in High Stakes Testing Today?

2. Good Evening. This is CSU News. I’m Michelle Candella. And I’m Cali Burnell. CSU NEWS BROADCAST

3. The question we are discussing this evening is: Do gender, race, and class affect standardized test scores in our area? Let’s investigate.

4. W. James Popham states in his book Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, “Assessment bias refers to qualities of an assessment instrument that offend or unfairly penalize a group of students because of students’ gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, or other such group-defining characteristics.” (111)

5. Do you think Cali that the tests are students are taking have bias embedded into them? Is that why our students are showing such achievement gaps?

6. Well Michelle, according to the NAEP, “Achievement gaps occur when one group of students outperforms another group and the difference in average scores for the two groups is statistically significant (that is, larger than the margin of error).” http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/gaps/

7. And according to the New York Regents Exam, this was one of the questions presented to students: One parents group said that it was “Outright racism”, while others said that it educationally acceptable, however, it could have been worded differently. “What were two ways the British improved the lives of Africans?”

8. Cali, we also have video clip from an NEA conference where President Obama vents his frustrations about No Child Left Behind. Let’s take a look!

9. The New York Times reports ”The Obama administration calls on states to adopt new academic standards to replace the current 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency, a goal widely dismissed as unrealistic.” The New York Times (2011)

10. “Studies reveal that in the early years of their education, girls are equal to or ahead of their male counterparts on standardized assessments.” (Owens 2003)

11. We spoke to a local female single-gender teacher and she says, “Girls are more focused than boys early in their education so I am not at all surprised that statistics show they perform better.”

12. How are local schools performing Cali? Well Michelle, while looking at the 2010 Pass Scores, the report card of a local Elementary School shows that the gender could possibly play a role in a high stakes test.

13. While reviewing the Met and Exemplary scores of Goodwin Elementary School in Charleston County I noticed a large gap between male and female achievement. After reviewing the 2010 school report card, Goodwin clearly shows a nearly 15% gap. Males- 63.1% Females- 77.7%

14. However, when compared to their neighbor school in Dorchester District 2, Eagle Nest Elementary School in 2009 disproves this assumption with a less than 2% difference between genders. Males 84.7 % Females 83.4 %

15. Cali, many local schools are beginning to develop single gender classrooms amidst overwhelming studies that show students excel when divided by gender. What evidence of this have you found? Single Gender- A Good Idea?

16. Michelle, there are many people who are supportive of this movement. Dr. Leonard Sax, who put aside his medical career to become an advocate for single-gender classes, is one of those people.

17. Many educators in Europe are also supporting this movement. Here is a video from RomeReports.com on this stimulating topic.

18. Very interesting Cali! If teachers or parents are looking to educate themselves further on the research about single-gender classes that they can speak to their school or find conferences to attend. Here is a website: singlesexschools.org Thank you for that eye-opening information!

19. Let’s discuss the nationwide achievement gap problem between African Americans and Whites. Do you see any evidence of this in our local schools?

20. Well Michelle, while comparing the two local schools I noticed the Caucasian students are scoring significantly higher than the African American peers on PASS. Let me show you a chart including Met and Exemplary scores of the two groups of children.

21. Met and Exemplary Scores of White and African American Students

22. Is this a national problem as well Cali? Indeed it is Michelle. After reviewing the national statistics of math scores between 1978 and 2004 here is what has been reported.

24. Cali why do you think the gap is on a trend towards closing again? Well Michelle I think it is because the nation is recognizing the problems. Local Title I schools and those that do not meet AYP are now offering tutoring after school. Title I funds are being used for technology which has also been proven to help educate our students.

25. Very interesting Cali! Let’s talk now about how the two areas are performing when taking income into consideration.

26. I found Michelle, that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009 Charleston County families had a median income of $50,213 while Dorchester County families reported bringing home about $60,254.

27. Look at these statistics! This shows when taking the total scores of all students scoring Met and Exemplary the school is Dorchester County is outperforming it’s neighbor.

28. Total School Comparison

29. Michelle it is apparent that the two schools are not performing at the same rate. It is a fact that children from lower income homes do not have access to the books and experiences that higher income children have.

30. Also, according to the American Psychological Association, or APA, research indicates that children from low SES households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compared to children from higher SES groups. The schools systems in low-SES communities are often under resourced, negatively affecting students’ academic progress.”

31. *Check garage sales for cheap books *Shop at a local Goodwill for books/materials *Ask for books for birthdays and other holidays *For parents who have internet access check out Starfall.com, pbskids.org *Ask your child’s teacher for more ideas *go to our website csunews.com keyword need books Tips for Struggling Parents

32. Cali, what are teachers doing to close this achievement gap? What can they do? I spoke to a few teachers via phone and they said they are writing grants, modifying budgets to purchase necessary items, and asking for donations from parents. There are also websites available for teachers who need extra support. Here are a few.

33. Freecycle.org -a website where teachers can find items for free from people in the community Donorschoose.org- a website where donors can choose which educational project they would like to help fund Scholastic.com- usually has contests with the result of monies for a classroom Websites:

34. As documented in Dr. Linda Karges-Bones book Brain Framing, she states teachers can use brain research to help students succeed in school. Here are some tips for teachers presented in her text. Take into consideration multiple intelligences Create assessments prior to instruction Create a classroom rich in items appealing to the senses Develop strong Long-Range Plans What else can teachers do?

35. Create a classroom rich in items appealing to the senses Develop strong Long-Range Plans Go back to school for further education Yes, and our school has a cohort program that would definitely be a benefit to teachers!

36. As presented in this broadcast, the statistics show gender, race, and class can have a stake in high stakes testing. According to Stafford Hood, professor of psychology in education at Arizona State University, “There has been a long history of bias in the development of standardized testing,” said “We are better in terms of paying attention to the possibilities of bias in testing than we were before, but has it been fixed yet? Of course not.”

37. We will keep you posted on the newest updates. I’m Michelle Candella. And I’m Cali Burnell. Good night.

38. Young, John W. Gender Bias in Predicting College Academic Performance: A new approach to using item response theory. Journal of Educational Measurement. Spring 1991, v.28 p37-47 http://www.jstor.org/pss/1434683 SAT Chart Census Info: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45/45035.html Goodwin Report Card: http://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/2010/elementary/comprehensive/e1001042.pdf Popham pg 111 APA.org Medill Reports Chicago: http://news.northwestern.edu/chicago/news/aspx?id=35935 Bibliography: